ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the emerging types of experiential learning. It deals with a definition of experiential learning, including a comparison with traditional learning, followed by a review of its historical antecedents. On a first attempt to acquaint himself with experiential learning, the educator cannot help but be confused by the multitude of terms that accompany the concept. Field experience, prior learning, internship, cooperative education, service-learning, foreign study, intracultural experience, outdoor living, and individual enrichment are just some of the terms falling under the umbrella of experiential learning. James Coleman describes experiential learning as almost the direct reverse of traditional learning, which he calls the "information assimilation process." During the medieval period two types of guilds dominated learning and training. In the twentieth century, cooperative programs were developed to integrate work experience and learning. Experiential learning has been an element of education for centuries, chiefly through internships and practicums.
